Mustapha Salma : HRW and Amnesty International do not give in !

International NGOs remain on their guards regarding the case of the Polisario dissident, Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud. The false annoucement about the release of the former Polisario police chief, does not seem to have any impact on Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Considering that the Polisario announcement was nothing but an attempt to divert the attention of international NGOs and media and thus reduce the pressure put on Polisario, the two organizations have renewed their call to the Polisario and Algeria for the effective  release of Mustapha Salma.
While expressing its worry about the security of the Polisario dissident, Amnesty considers that Mustapha Salma who has only expressed publicly his support to the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara « should not undergo any reprisals ».

Futhermore, the peaceful support to the autonomy proposal « should not be seen as an action that justifies the restrictions imposed on the freedom of expression » by the Polisario. On the other hand, HRW has expressed, from Washington, its preoccupations about the destiny of Mustapha Salma whose place of imprisonment remains unknown and his family is still without news about him.

Eric Goldstein, the Deputy Director of the Middle-East and North Africa Department at the HRW has stated that the Organization defending human rights was following « closely and on an everyday basis the case of Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud ».
HRW has finally called the Polisario to make known the imprisonment place of Mustapha Salma, and to urgently allow him to get in touch with his family, while reminding Algeria that « it is its responsibility to guarantee human rights for all the persons who are on its territory ».